The Democratic Revolution in Egypt

The eyes of America have been turned recently on Egypt for a couple of reasons.  One is that Oklahoma and other places have been in deep debilitating snow for a week or more with a few intermittent breaks.  And another reason is that millions of people worldwide have been showing solidarity with the youth movement in that nation, which is calling for democratic elections.  Today's photo is my beautiful daughter Katy and her husband Josh.  For their honeymoon, they flew to Italy and took a Mediterranean cruise, visiting Greece, Cypress, Egypt and Italy in 2009.  It must be ironic for a nation which is so rich in tourist wonders to have violence and unrest over democracy, since they are warning tourists that their safety cannot be assured.  The 'cost' of democracy is a sort of constant flux and unpredictability from year to year.  The value of a stable long term benevolent dictator is predictable sameness, which is an times good and at times bad. 

I read that Egypt is almost globally owned, thus making it highly dependent on international trade and commerce.  Egypt jumped right on the globalism bandwagon and is now seeing the disparity between its own poverty (the average income is just a few thousand dollars per year) and the glitzy flash of the upper class which comes there to see the sites of the ancient world and vacation in one of the most desireable places in the middle east. 

For days, snowed in, I watched CNN and LinkTV interviewing young people on the streets and covering the demonstration.  I watched C-Span where the Egyptian Prime Minister walked the fine balance between endorsing the democratic movement and risking being labelled as an oppressor.

My hope is for democratic elections soon, with transparency and wide participation.  I hope a coalition government emerges which can address the economic frailties of the Egyptian economy, give hope to all classes, and restore confidence in Egypt as a travel destination.  I have never been there, and it is a place with much rich history that I would like to experience.

Art of Living Festival

This year marks the second Art of Living Festival in downtown Tahlequah.  Our Trio, Tibbits & McCracken plays at 11 a.m. at the Cherokee Courthouse Square.  Events and activities are planned for both the Square and Norris Park throughout the day, so plan to come for an extended festival. 

I've heard that several vineyards will have booths.  I'm sort of a fan of regional wines, because I have found that they have a brighter flavor than wines shipped from afar.   My fave is Post Familie Red Muscadine.  It makes a nice base for wine gravies and sauces, as well as for sipping.  The White Muscadine is nice also. 

Oklahoma's vineyard near Vinita, maybe Route 66, has a lovely raspberry wine.  These tasting booths are a great way to compare several wines and learn your own preferences.  Others are Stone Bluff near Broken Arrow and Nuyaka down around Okmulgee or thereabouts.

I make wine, or used to.  Recently, I donated my winemaking supplies and brew supplies to my son-in-law so that someone young and strong could keep the family tradition.  Last year at Strawberry time, I cleaned a couple of flats and made nice strawberry wine.  Hey.  Think about tossing gold coins into a fountain as a less-expensive hobby.    The work and toil, lifting and monitoring, washing and sterilizing, stirring and bottling, driving and shopping are downsides.  But nothing is more delicious than nice home-made strawberry wine.  And here's a tip I learned the expensive way:  Catch the end of berry season.  You'll find overripe flats at a discount at the side of the road, from desperate strawberry growers who overproduced more than they could sell to passersby.  You will have to work a little harder at making sure you don't introduce any mold into your batch, but will save $2 to $10 per flat. 

I always wash my berries in a clean sink, then lay them out on towels to dry thoroughly... ideally just as soon as I get them home.  Ideally, you could dehydrate clean berries overnight before sending them to the mashup, and you'd get an even richer and sweeter intense flavor.

Here's a secret:  If you are lazy or caught off-season, you can use frozen Stilwell Strawberries from the store.  They're packed in sugar, which sort of takes away the vintner's ability to get a quick dry wine.  But it will give you  a richly flavorful wine far exceeding any that you can buy. 

I'm sort of clever at making wine from whatever's at hand.  For Murder Mystery Weekend, we took some nice cranberry strawberry wine made from a bottle of juice from the store.  Just look for juice without added citric acid and other preservatives--- they are present to prevent wine from becoming so.  Uncap the bottle for an hour.  Then recap it and let it set for a week before you decide whether to add yeast.  A word of advice from experience:  Don't leave active sparkling wine in the car for a few days or you'll get a jar explosion and wine will seep into the rug.  That can be very stinky.

Look us up Saturday, May 15 at 11 a.m. on the Square.  Bring a lawn chair, I bet.  And don't miss the Squeeze-Inn Reunion in Norris Park where the Squeeze-Inn once was.

Come To Earth Day Songwriter's Jam 2010

Almost every year, Dennis & I have thrown a big Earth Day Jam for local songwriters, so they can premier songs they have arranged about the Illinois River.  We think it is important to preserve the culture of the Illinois River, and besides it is a fun get-together which raises money for the bigger project of producing Illinois River music.  Our last album was the brainchild of Rickey Ray, who did a super job of recording, editing and mixing the songs.  Our part in it was to be the financial backer for everything that we couldn't raise with the Jam door receipts, plus do anything necessary to help Rickey Ray in his creative endeavor.  Nancy Garber has been our teamie on making financial decisions and promoting the project.  She comes to us with years of experience at NSU and is a fun pal for the musical project.

3 years ago at Kooter Brown's we held a 3-day marathon running 2 stages day and night with scads of sets by boucoups of bands and musicians.  It included a poker run and bikers helped a lot.  Last year it was a one-day event running all day Saturday and all night Saturday night.  During the day, childrens events included a geocahcing treasure hunt and Artist Dana Tiger of Legacy Cultural Learning Community who facilitated childrens Environmental Art Show and Sale.

This year, the forum is Scooter's Music Tavern situated at State Highway 51 West and Tahlequah Bypass.  Entry thru the body shop parking lot, because Scooter's is easy to see but hard to figure out how to get to.  Rick Holderbee and Friends will be performing, along with Oklahoma Wildlife, Dena Coleman, Joel Sherrill, Rickey Ray, Dennis Tibbits and others.  If you are a musician and would like to perform, call me at 918 797 5016 to schedule a slot... or just show up and sign up at the door for a time slot.  We do *try* to stay on time but.... hey!  These are musicians and it *never* stays on time. 

Proceeds from the $5 admission donation will be used to help with production costs for the next CD or donated to STIR.  (And the profits from the CDs are donated to STIR... over $1,000 has already been donated to date).  A fun new event this year will be an auction of a select few of the very weirdest things you could imagine.  (And some needful things also). 

Its hard when Earth Day is on a week day.  And every year Earth Day is on the birthday of  my beautiful daughter, Katy Winbray Brinkley.  This event will kick off at 6 so come early and bring potluck (and perhaps a designated driver).  Thanks to Scooter's for hosting the 2010 Earth Day Songwriter's Jam for Musicians for STIR.